US death metal veterans SKINLESS has shared a brutally hilarious new music video for “Skull Session” to celebrate the release of their new album Savagery, out TODAY view Relapse Records.

Issues the band, “Stylistically, our new video is Evil Dead, meets Tales From The Crypt, meets the A-Team! SKINLESS finds a way to infiltrate the mind of the hippie and torment behind the point of return. If you enjoy this even a fraction as much as the fun we had making it, mission accomplished. This is as homegrown as it gets with most of the budget being spent on beer, booze, and lumber! ENJOY THIS FINAL CUT! heeee heeeeee heeee haaa [CryptKeeper voice].”

“The ‘Skull Session’ video has a lot of fun little brutal Easter eggs in it,” the band continues. “It was a team effort between friends dating over twenty-five years. It’s an honor to be able to bring this to life, or death, rather, with not only a talented team, but great friends. Wayne Ordon, our ‘best boy’ and guillotine designer/constructor has been a major supporter of the band and great friend since the mid ’90s.”

SKINLESS’ pulverizing sixth studio offering, fittingly titled Savagery was recorded by Tom Case at Doomsday Bunker Studio in New York and by Dave Otero (Primitive Man, Cattle Decapitation, Cephalic Carnage) at Flatline Audio in Colorado. The record embodies ten slabs of rotting, aural remains across thirty-seven minutes of titanic slams, untouchable grooves, mauling riffs, and bestial growls. Savagery sees SKINLESS at the top of their game, more than twenty-five years into an untouchable reign of terror and comes swathed in the stunningly sick cover art of renowned tattoo artist Jesse Levitt.

Savagery drops May 11th (TODAY) on CD, LP, and digital formats via Relapse Records. Physical packages are available via Relapse.com HERE and all digital download/streaming services at THIS LOCATION.

The beast called SKINLESS was brought forth in 1992 by guitarist Noah Carpenter with one goal: to be the heaviest band around. SKINLESS plays brutal death metal with crushing, infectious groove, influenced by pioneers such as Obituary, Suffocation, Broken Hope, Deicide, and Cannibal Corpse. After a variety of personnel changes and the release of two demos, SKINLESS established a solid, dedicated lineup in 1997: Noah Carpenter on guitar, Sherwood Webber on vocals, bassist Joe Keyser, and Bob Beaulac on drums. This version of the band would later become known as the band’s classic lineup.

In 1998, SKINLESS released their full-length debut Progression Towards Evil, which stunned the underground, showcasing the energy that the band had become known for via its intense live performances. An independent release, Progression Towards Evil received frenzied acclaim the world over and saw remarkable sales. A deal with Relapse Records ensued, and three more bludgeoning platters of death metal were served up between 2001 and 2006: Foreshadowing Our Demise, From Sacrifice To Survival, and Trample The Weak, Hurdle The Dead.

Despite a few lineup changes during that period, the band remained as brutal and busy as ever.SKINLESS toured the globe extensively in support of these offerings and gathered a growing horde of metal miscreant fans. Besides their recorded output, SKINLESS has also had the pleasure of defiling stages around the Earth with Slayer, Pantera, Slipknot, Shadows Fall, Exodus, Overkill, Morbid Angel, Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Six Feet Under, Misery Index, Deicide, Immolation, Origin, Gorguts, Hatebreed, Chimaira, Mortician, Incantation, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, Entombed, Vader, Cattle Decapitation, Brutality, Grave, and many more.

After several years of laying low, SKINLESS returned to action with their classic formation in 2013 and added a second guitarist, Dave Matthews, into the mix. A fifth full-length album, and the band’s first in eight years, detonated via Relapse in June 2015. With Only The Ruthless Remain, SKINLESSwas stronger than ever with a prime slab of brutal death. Chock full of their signature, skull-crushingly heavy grooves and technical, blasting severity, Only the Ruthless Remain garnered a positive reception from publications like Decibel, MetalSucks, and Terrorizer.

Death metal defenders of the old GRUESOME today delivers the official video for “Inhumane.” The song comes by way of the band’s impending Twisted Prayers full-length album.

Comments vocalist/guitarist Matt Harvey, “We’re very stoked about how this video turned out. [Director] Jeff Sisson (Exhumed, Origin) really took the concept and ran with it, creating something new and unique, while still in the spirit of homage that GRUESOME is all about. This is the lead-off track for the record, and we feel like it really sets the tone for Twisted Prayers – a blend of OSDM savagery and a bit of melody and flash to mix things up a bit. Play this at work to creep out your co-workers or on the bus home to get the person sitting next to you to fuck off! Thanks for checking it out, thanks to Jeff for putting this together, and as always thanks to Chuck [Schuldiner] and the boys for their legacy, which we continue to have a blast celebrating!”

Adds Loudwire, “GRUESOME thrust us toward the end of this century in a world where crime has risen 800 percent in America and the entirety of St. Petersburg, Florida has been walled off as a prison. The convicted face a choice: life in prison or execution. Those who choose a more immediate end are marched to their fate and inside they discover they’re now in the hands of sadistic murderers. As for the music, if you love Death, you’ll inherently love GRUESOME — this is blind taste test Death.”

GRUESOME recently partnered with Decibel Magazine to share their cover of “Legion of Doom” by Chuck Schuldiner’s pre-Death project Mantas. The recording is included the June 2018 issue as a special pictured flexi disc. Stream the exclusive track below.

GRUESOME — featuring current and former members of Exhumed, Possessed, Malevolent Creation, etc. — will return with its second full-length, Twisted Prayers this June. The eight-track offering follows Death’s paradigm shift during the Spiritual Healing era, incorporating more cerebral, melodic instrumentation with elements of thrash and thought-provoking, socially conscious lyrics. Recorded at New Constellation Studios in Orlando, Florida with producer Jarrett Pritchard (Exhumed, 1349, Goatwhore, Wolvhammer) who has been instrumental in crafting the band’s sonic homage, Twisted Prayers features GRUESOME doing what they do best across over forty minutes of unholy hymns with lurid melodies and vulgar atmospheres. The band has once again teamed up with the legendary artist Ed Repka (Death, Atheist, Massacre) for the album’s blasphemous cover art in addition to legendary Death guitarist James Murphy (Death, Obituary, Testament) for a pair of special guest guitar solos. Bow your heads and worship at the altar of GRUESOME!

GRUESOME’s Twisted Prayers is due out June 1st on CD, LP, deluxe LP, cassette, and digital formats via Relapse Records. Physical packages are available via Relapse.com HERE and digital downloads/streaming services at THIS LOCATION. The deluxe LP edition of the album includes an accompanying flexi disc featuring companion artwork and a cover of Possessed’s “The Exorcist”.

GRUESOME has announced two exclusive shows in Florida with labelmates Exhumed before kicking off a European headlining tour this summer. Beginning July 19th, the trek will travel through two dozen cities and includes appearances at Obscene Extreme 2018, Wacken Open Air, Partysan Open Air and more!

Multi­-state death metal monster GRUESOME was born out of guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey and drummer Gus Rios’ mutual involvement with the Death To All tours (Harvey served as frontman for the original mini­tour and Rios performed “Baptized In Blood” and worked with DTA drummer Sean Reinert on the following US tour where Harvey’s other band Exhumed filled in as support). After discussing and discarding the idea of putting together another incarnation of DTA to focus exclusively on the first two albums, Harvey half-jokingly suggested that the pair write their own songs in intentional homage to Death. It wasn’t long before the idea gained traction, and the band soon had five tracks written. With Harvey writing in California, Rios recruited Possessed guitarist Daniel Gonzalez and Derketa bassist Robin Mazen to record the material in Florida, while Harvey tracked his vocals on the West Coast.

Gruesome released a pair of single-song demos in 2014 and were quickly signed by Relapse Records. The band’s debut full-length Savage Land, a truly gruesome slab of Leprosy-styled death metal, was released in April 2015. As evidenced by the Ed Repka (Death, Vio-lence, Megadeth, Massacre, etc.) cover art, GRUESOME was humbly determined to keep the classic sound of Death alive as faithfully as possible.

After the very positive reception of their debut from fans and critics alike, GRUESOME continued their homage to the Death catalog, promptly sinking their teeth into the savagery of Scream Bloody Gore. Their second release, the Dimensions Of Horror EP, was a six-song slab of grisly, bone-breaking anthems that proved that no matter the decade, old-school death metal is always relevant, brutal, and irresistible. The music video for the title track perfectly captured the record’s VHS horror sensibility and further raised the band’s profile, leading to shows across the US and Europe. The band followed Dimensions… up with a 7” titled Fragments Of Psyche, which showcased their versatility. With guest drummer Sean Reinert (Death, Cynic), the band dove head-first into the more technical Human era of Death’s sound, which was a sharp contrast to the band’s first two releases, which exclusively reveled in old-school g(l)ory.

Tormentor is the band’s first album since 2007’s Get Damned (Century Media), which was preceded by 2005’s The Darkest Red (Roadrunner) and 2003’s self-titled release (Solid State).

“There is an underlying theme to much of the record, and that is the idea of an insane, manipulative creator, a ‘Tormentor’ of all mankind, if you will. The lyrics also touch on the idea that an unquestioning belief in such a creator and an infallible doctrine can lead to a more chaotic and dark world in many cases,” guitarist ChrisEmmons toldRevolver.

He continued, “‘Hand of the Divine’ was written about the Rubio murders that took place in Brownsville, Texas in 2003. These murders occurred as a result of a man who believed that his three children were possessed by demons. The video for ‘Hand of the Divine’ follows along the theme of an insane creator, but does have some loose parallels with the Rubio murders. It tells the story of ‘The Binding of Isaac’ that can be found in the texts of the Abrahamic religions. This story finds god demanding Abraham to sacrifice his son as an offering, proving his love and obedience. An insane and criminal act by modern standards and law. The story is portrayed a bit loosely, taking interpretations from multiple texts.”

“The Agony Scene, was the gateway band in the era of aggressive dark metalcore, paving the way for a new generation of metal fans (including myself),” said Outerloop president Shan Dan Horan. “It’s impossible for me to have a conversation with a metal artist without them mentioning The Agony Scene as an influence. That being said, I’m extremely excited to be a part of their most aggressive album to date.”

BURY THE KINGS Drop New Single ‘HURT’ EP ‘V’ Out May 18th

Melbourne’s Bury The Kings’ new EP, ‘V’ is a concept EP dealing with the 5 stages of grief. A heavy undertaking for sure and the band have approached it with care and craftsmanship with the intent of representing the 5 stages through emotive, brutal, yet beautiful music. The EP will be out Friday May 18th. The EP is available for pre-order now, and today they are dropping the final taste of the EP ahead of its release.

“Hurt” is the “Anger” stage from the upcoming EP. The song pays homage to a previous single “Only” – a fast tempo, angry and heavy song, with the same themes of loneliness and anger. Lyrically, the track is a reflection of someone who has lost something in their life. They’re angry, upset and emotional, but they weren’t able to do anything about it, thus reflecting the stage of grief.

The band’s intent with the EP concept is that It’s about dealing with loss, fighting your inner demons and overcoming against the odds. “What we tried to do with this concept is not only match the lyrical concept, but have the music also correspond with the particular stage,” said Wojtek.

The EP was produced, mixed and mastered by Scottie Simpson from Alpha Wolf, who has also worked with bands such as Death in Bloom, The Gloom in the Corner and Gravemind. Guitarist Wojtek Tomczyk aided Scottie in the process of the production of the record.

Bury The Kings’ EP ‘V’ will see its release next Friday, May 18 and is available for pre-order on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Bandcamp now. Previous Singles ‘Take Me With You’ and ‘Skin & Blood’ are available for purchase and streaming now.

Hometown: Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Immortal Release Title Track ‘Northern Chaos Gods’ From Their Forthcoming LP Out July 6th 2018 by Nuclear Blast Records

IMMORTAL unveils the title track ‘Northern Chaos Gods’ from their upcoming album which will be released on July 6th 2018 by Nuclear Blast Records. The song premiere comes in form of a first digital single, and limited 7” vinyl singles of the title track will be out on May 25th.

With rabid furore, teeth-baring aggression and an eerie cold that crawls deep into the very bones of the listener after only a few unrelenting seconds, IMMORTAL is about to erect a new superior kingdom of frost on top of their existing legacy. The song ‘Northern Chaos Gods’ consequently, holds the very essence of IMMORTAL; a distillate of grimness that will once again heave the band onto the ice throne of Norwegian black metal.

Album tracklist:

The album is now available for pre-order various formats:Digipak180g LP (black) in gatefoldCollector’s box setMailorder exclusive steel boxLP (red, blue, black+white bi-coloured, silver and gold) in gatefoldDigital download

In addition, very limited 7” vinyl singles of the title track ‘Northern Chaos Gods’ will be out on May 25th – the red vinyl is already sold out, but black and white are still available, here:http://nblast.de/ImmortalNCGSingle

The line-up on the album is:Demonaz (vocals, guitars)Horgh (drums)Peter Tägtgren (session bass)

Indominus – Ambivalence Stood Still Track Review

Indominus have changed a lot since their previously released LP ‘Legion Within’. Their previous vocalist Alan has long since left the band and they have decided to continue as a four piece with Guitarist Simon now handling vocal duties.

We were sent on an advance of their track ‘Ambivalence Stood Still’ to review and I’m happy they did as I’m a fan of this band for a long time now. I was also very happy when this track delivered! An evolution? Yes! In the best possible way though!

While Legion Within was a very ambitious release, judging from this track they are simplifying the formula. It’s still progressive in musical style, but a lot more direct. The amazing lead guitar work is still there of course and there’s many great leads/solos in this track. There’s also a great breakdown at intervals that really get the head going.

This track is definitely a progressive death metal song to my ears and I’m liking their new direction. Their previous material was very good, but as I previously said this is a lot direct and to the point. It’s still Indominus, but different of course as the vocals have changed and it’s a lot more direct in style.

All in all it’s a track filled with Solid drumming, great Bass playing and some truly excellent guitar work. It’s also a real grower and gets better with repeat listens.